Minors Shouldn't Use Tanning Beds, Panel Says

WASHINGTON -- A group of dermatology and plastic surgery experts recommended to the FDA that minors be barred from indoor tanning and suggested tighter controls on tanning beds.

The General and Plastic Surgery Devices Advisory Panel met Thursday to offer guidance to the FDA on how the agency should monitor tanning beds. The FDA has regulated tanning lamps used in the beds for the past two decades, but recent reports connecting indoor tanning to a variety of skin cancers has spurred the agency to turn up the heat.

A 2007 law directs the FDA to re-examine tanning bed labels, and Thursday's meeting was part of that process.

The panel didn't vote, but after more than 10 hours of deliberation, the members seemed to agree that the FDA should put stricter controls on tanning beds, including requiring tanning salons to keep detailed customer registries, requiring parental consent forms for minors, or perhaps an all-out ban for those under 18.

However, some members of the panel said the evidence is not strong enough to warrant an all-out ban for minors, the Associated Press reported.

The FDA does not have to follow the advice of its advisory committees, although it usually does.

Tanning beds, which are used largely for cosmetic purposes, fall under the FDA's jurisdiction because the ultraviolet lamps they use fit the definition of a medical device -- something that is "intended to affect the structure of any function of the body of man or other animals."

In the case of tanning beds, the structures affected are melanocytes.

Until now, ultraviolet lamps used for tanning have been considered a class I device, along with adhesive bandages and tongue depressors. Class I devices are considered safe and therefore subject to few regulations. But the FDA could elevate the lamps to class II or III, a change that would bring stricter regulation.

Most tanning beds emit mostly UVA rays, because they are considered less likely than UVB rays to produce a sunburn. UV radiation is considered the main cause of nonmelanoma skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and many experts believe that UV radiation plays a major role in the induction of melanoma, according to FDA briefing documents posted online before Thursday's meeting.

"Despite the types of UV radiation used, overexposure to UV radiation from the sun and artificial sources is of considerable public health concern," FDA staff wrote in the briefing document. "UV radiation plays an important role in the development of skin cancer, cataracts, and other eye conditions, and suppresses the immune system.

Dermatologist William D. James, MD, president of the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA), the ADA's health policy arm, testified before the panel and urged the agency to ban indoor tanning devices altogether.

"At the very least, we encourage the FDA to shift the classification of indoor tanning to one that more closely matches the health risks of these devices and place additional regulations on these harmful devices," he said.

The FDA is not the only branch of government scrutinizing tanning beds.

The healthcare reform bill signed into law by President Obama on Monday contains a 10% tax on tanning beds. The measure is expected to raise $2.7 billion over 10 years.

And a bill pending in Congress would impose more stringent controls, such as the limiting the strength of the UV rays emitted, and the time a person would be allowed to tan.

In a meta-analysis published in 2006, the IARC working group concluded that people who begin using tanning devices before age 30 have a 75% greater risk of cutaneous melanoma than the general population.

Each year, more than 30 million people, or 10% of all Americans, visit a tanning salon, and use of the beds is common among teenagers, according to the FDA documents.

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